Aesthetics of Resistance
Type
Single PanelSchedule
Session 11Thu 14:00-15:30 REC A2.04
Convener
- Pasakorn Intoo-Marn Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Thammasat University, Thailand
Discussant
- Greta Timea Biro Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
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- Sorayut Aiem-Ueayut Chiang Mai University
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Aesthetics of resistance and the 2021 Spring Revolution in Burma/Myanmar
Johanna M. Götz Ca'Foscari University
Following the 2021 attempted military coup in Burma/Myanmar the Spring Revolution has brought together people across and beyond the country to fight against the junta in a multitude of forms from peaceful street protests via online mobilization to armed combat in the ‘liberated areas’. Thereby, contemporary artistic expressions have complemented evolvements on the ground as both archives-in-the-making and as important tool while widening the debates beyond the common enemy towards challenging long-standing dominant narratives that have been re/enforcing intersectionally grounded inequalities. While these artistic expressions have been (made) visible relatively widely, discussions about the role, relevance and revolutionary potential have been scarce. Based on empirical illustrations, the paper traces how contemporary art/ists (has/have been) mobilize(d within) the 2021 Spring Revolution and explores the possibilities and limitations of (contemporary) art as a means to liberate oneself from oppressive forces, both externally and within pro-democratic/anti-authoritarian spaces, through an aesthetic of resistance.
- Greta Timea Biro Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
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Aesthetics Turn in IR: Queer and Pride
Wannapa Leerasiri Chiang Mai University
The aesthetic turn in International Relations despite encountering resistance from traditional IR theorists, possesses inherent value. It challenges scholars to broaden their methodological toolkit beyond traditional textual analyses. By embracing film, photography, and other aesthetic mediums, researchers stand to gain a deeper understanding of the multifaceted dimensions of global politics, ranging from wars and protests to peace processes and humanitarian works. This study employs an aesthetic approach in International Relations to develop an understanding of gender equality on a global level, using the Pride parade as a case study.
Abstract
The panel will define and discuss the aesthetics of resistance through diverse socio-artistic movements in different contexts. As in the novel by Peter Weiss, Die Ästhetik des Widerstands (1975), the aesthetics of resistance pertains to ways in which the arts and artistic activities are instrumentalized to challenge dominant societal powers.
The first presentation will focus on the intertwined relationship between Muslims, Hindus, and Chinese vendors in a small weekly market in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Noise becomes a form of aesthetic appreciation that creates the marketplace sphere, just as silence is a fearsome authoritative control to ensure submission to the state.
The second presentation will demonstrate the intersection between aesthetics of the transgender body, transgender advocacy work and politics of so-called rehabilitation and correction propagated by state Islamic authorities in Malaysia.
The third will be an aesthetic International Relations approach to developing a global understanding of gender equality through a case study of Pride parades.
After the presentations, a discussion on defining the aesthetics of resistance will reflect each presentation and explore their common ground based on definitions proposed by the panel.